Harbinger APS 12 powered speakers.....good or bad??
- Thread starter jimirb
- Start date
lanayapiper
New member
The reviews over Harbinger APS 12 powered speakers are not good. If I were you, I will pass on this. Try other more reliable brand such as Bose, Klipsch or Yamaha. I hope this helps!
Yes, I've read virtually every on-line review I can find, many excellent and many not; but most on the websites of those who actually sell the speakers....therefore, to me a bit suspect from the git-go.
I have a good friend who is a full-time stage musician who has used Harbingers as well as JBLs side-by-side for years. He ranks the Harbingers right up there with the JBLs and at a MUCH lower price. Matter of fact, he recently did a tour of small venues in 4 states and only had room to travel with 1 powered speaker. He chose to travel the Harbinger APS 12. I've listened to him live for 5 years and never heard anything but excellent quality from both his Harbingers and his JBLs.
That's why I'd like to hear directly from actual users who've had them a while, have no ax to grind either way, and use them in small venue (100-200 people) applications.
I have a good friend who is a full-time stage musician who has used Harbingers as well as JBLs side-by-side for years. He ranks the Harbingers right up there with the JBLs and at a MUCH lower price. Matter of fact, he recently did a tour of small venues in 4 states and only had room to travel with 1 powered speaker. He chose to travel the Harbinger APS 12. I've listened to him live for 5 years and never heard anything but excellent quality from both his Harbingers and his JBLs.
That's why I'd like to hear directly from actual users who've had them a while, have no ax to grind either way, and use them in small venue (100-200 people) applications.
jamesperrett
Active member
They're made by Soundking in China. Look for reviews on the similar Studiospares/Carlsbro/Studiomaster models. The ones I've heard have been fine considering the price although they're heavier than other similar models. In the UK spares are easily obtained at reasonable prices through Studiospares although I'm not sure who would sell spares in the USA.
James.
James.
mjbphotos
Moderator
A lot is going to depend on how hard you drive them - the louder, the more distortion and muddiness you get.
I go by what I said earlier - nto a good investment. GC always has used ones available, go try some out. They rarely have used higher-end powered speakers - which tells me that people hold onto those more than people who get Harbingers.
What's your actual use - is this for solo acoustic shows, etc? Go to a store and try one out. Bring your guitar and mic and plug in and crank one up.
I go by what I said earlier - nto a good investment. GC always has used ones available, go try some out. They rarely have used higher-end powered speakers - which tells me that people hold onto those more than people who get Harbingers.
What's your actual use - is this for solo acoustic shows, etc? Go to a store and try one out. Bring your guitar and mic and plug in and crank one up.
Well, I bought a pair and played my first gig with them today. About 100 people seated auditorium style in a 60 x 30 room. Fed them an 0db analog signal from my mixer to the balanced line input on the Harbingers. Harbinger master set at approx 3 dots. Line volume set at approx 4 dots. This yielded a SPL of approx 70-75 db in the center of the audience (A weighting on SPL meter.) That's about as loud as our typical audience appreciates.
IMHO, the audio quality was EXCELLENT!! Still playing with the graphic eq but but basically a little boost across the board. This is about the size audience we play to, so I don't expect to have to drive them much more than a dot or so harder.
We previously were using a pair of Peavey PR12p. The APS12s sound as good, if not better than the Peaveys.
In short, for our style of music and our audience.......I'm exceptionally happy with the Harbingers!!!! Absolutely no regrets.
IMHO, the audio quality was EXCELLENT!! Still playing with the graphic eq but but basically a little boost across the board. This is about the size audience we play to, so I don't expect to have to drive them much more than a dot or so harder.
We previously were using a pair of Peavey PR12p. The APS12s sound as good, if not better than the Peaveys.
In short, for our style of music and our audience.......I'm exceptionally happy with the Harbingers!!!! Absolutely no regrets.
jamesperrett
Active member
IMHO just about anything will sound better than Peavey speakers. They make good electronics but their speakers are designed by people who have no idea what good speakers should sound like.
James.
Mike,
We are a 5 member classic country/ 50's R&R group. Mixer is Yamaha MG82CX. Lead vocalist uses SM-58 thru TC Helicon Harmony G harmonizer and we use Boss drum machine. Lead guitar and bass don't go thru mixer.
I generalized a bit about eq boost across the board. Speakers are still loaded in the van so I don't have them in front of me to look at and the sliders are pretty small, so trying to quote exact EQ settings is a bit difficult. Suffice it to say a tiny bit of low freq cut but generally varing degrees of boost in mids and essentially flat at 12K AND still experimenting with only 1 sound check/gig.
We are a 5 member classic country/ 50's R&R group. Mixer is Yamaha MG82CX. Lead vocalist uses SM-58 thru TC Helicon Harmony G harmonizer and we use Boss drum machine. Lead guitar and bass don't go thru mixer.
I generalized a bit about eq boost across the board. Speakers are still loaded in the van so I don't have them in front of me to look at and the sliders are pretty small, so trying to quote exact EQ settings is a bit difficult. Suffice it to say a tiny bit of low freq cut but generally varing degrees of boost in mids and essentially flat at 12K AND still experimenting with only 1 sound check/gig.
mjbphotos
Moderator
Keep me updated over time as you use them more. I'm looking for an inexpensive club system for duo/trio. The only thing I've seen less expensive are the Kustom 12" powered speakers. I've got a Mackie ProFX12 board with limited FX and graphic equalizer.
Today was a great shakedown gig. We played small theater with a typical theater stage, a curtain behind us and acoustically balanced multi-tiered ceiling. We had time to do an honest-to-god sound check. I was TOTALLY impressed with the Harbingers.
See my pervious post for the mixer setup, etc. Had a chance to EQ the Harbingers. Mixer HPF ON on all mic channels. Harbinger 250 & 500 hz cut 3db, 2 & 6 khz boosted 9db, 12 khz boosted 6db. Using balanced line input to Harbingers. Master gain set approx 3 dots, line input at approx 4 -5 dots.
TOTALLY clean AMAZINGLY rich sound. I have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING but positive comments.
Again, we are a mature country and 50's R&R group. No overdrive. No distortion. Vocals need to ride up above the mix, not get buried in it. Our audiences are in our age group and about 75 db in the audience on a SPL is all the volume they enjoy. I'm sure a hard rock or heavy metal group could distort these speakers relative easyly....I don't know....but for us, the $139 per cab was WELL worth the investment.
See my pervious post for the mixer setup, etc. Had a chance to EQ the Harbingers. Mixer HPF ON on all mic channels. Harbinger 250 & 500 hz cut 3db, 2 & 6 khz boosted 9db, 12 khz boosted 6db. Using balanced line input to Harbingers. Master gain set approx 3 dots, line input at approx 4 -5 dots.
TOTALLY clean AMAZINGLY rich sound. I have ABSOLUTELY NOTHING but positive comments.
Again, we are a mature country and 50's R&R group. No overdrive. No distortion. Vocals need to ride up above the mix, not get buried in it. Our audiences are in our age group and about 75 db in the audience on a SPL is all the volume they enjoy. I'm sure a hard rock or heavy metal group could distort these speakers relative easyly....I don't know....but for us, the $139 per cab was WELL worth the investment.
Tomm Williams
New member
I have one of them I use as a free-loaner to community events that need something simple for announcements and the like. I would say outside the teen-age garage band level, they really don't belong on any stage. They perform about as well as their price would indicate.
Tomm Williams
New member
In spite of what I had to say about them, It's good that you were happy with them.
mjbphotos
Moderator
That's what I have heard about them.
Its interesting to read through totally off-base opinions of people responding to our requests for advice. I'm learning that vague descriptions of what we are seeking will result in equally vague and off-base advice. What is most often lacking is context on how we intend to use the item. For example, to suggest that Bose or Klispsh should be used for the same purpose this Harbinger is intended is ludicrous because there is an ASSUPMPTION that your application REQUIRES something like the Bose or Klipsch when it may not need anything remotely like those systems.
Without providing the circumstances of proposed use of a particular piece of gear, the advice we receive will be pretty useless because most assumptions on how the equipment will be used will be wrong.
I'm in the process of seeking advice on a powered speaker. I've discovered that a Public Address style system may or may not be appropriate compared to a near-field studio monitor for my intended use. To get useful opinions from users, we need to qualify how the item will be most often used. What is the size of venue? How many people will be listening? Is it indoors or outdoors? Is it just for use in the studio in a small corner of my garage? Will there be loud background/crowd noise or will it be pretty quiet? Is it competing with or blending with other performers and audio systems? How close will the listeners be to the speaker? Is loud volume level more important than accuracy or is accuracy more important (Studio monitors are better for accuracy; PA speakers are better for volume/high sound pressure level) ? How important is bass, e.g. much below 80hz?
Your comment is a great example of the importance of CONTEXT on how a piece of equipment is intended to be used. Those who trash a unit like this Harbinger assume that everyone will use the equipment as they might use it: For music that is played with an SPL of 120db playing heavy metal with heavy bass. That is not helpful. It is a bit simple minded to assume a piece of equipment is only suitable for teeny boppers just because it is not designed to be used for something for which it was never intended nor designed.
It is more logical to assume that there are more used "entry level" pieces of equipment available than "high end" because they are entry level, not because they are inferior for their intended use. Those that are traded in are traded for something more powerful to address larger venues, bigger crowds, or more demanding productions. High end devices are not traded in as often because there is typically nothing "higher" to trade in for. Not everyone using this equipment in their house or for small scale performance needs high end stuff. But when they move on, their situation may demand something bigger and louder and more rugged and a road crew to move them around.
djalexbrown
New member
Think before you buy
suggestion 1
i always do lots of research before i buy something and everyone should
suggestion 2
i have 2 harbinger APS 12's. i have used them for about three years now and they have worked well. but now i need an upgrade to something bigger. these speakers are great for a single musician, small time dj, monitors, home speakers, petite bands. i work for a few bands that play lots of rock and they definitely need something better. one of the bands has purchased a harbinger system for the basement in which they practice. this system works great for the application but they are quite heavy and don't bother using them for any room more than 50' long * 30' wide if you can get them over 7' in the air you might get a little more range. overall if your just starting out these are great but remember you may need to upgrade someday.
suggestion 1
i always do lots of research before i buy something and everyone should
suggestion 2
i have 2 harbinger APS 12's. i have used them for about three years now and they have worked well. but now i need an upgrade to something bigger. these speakers are great for a single musician, small time dj, monitors, home speakers, petite bands. i work for a few bands that play lots of rock and they definitely need something better. one of the bands has purchased a harbinger system for the basement in which they practice. this system works great for the application but they are quite heavy and don't bother using them for any room more than 50' long * 30' wide if you can get them over 7' in the air you might get a little more range. overall if your just starting out these are great but remember you may need to upgrade someday.